


Grounded

by InstantFire



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Abused Anxiety | Virgil Sanders, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Anxiety Attacks, Anxiety | Virgil Sanders-centric, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, Fanon Characters, Fear, Hurt Anxiety | Virgil Sanders, Hurt/Comfort, Not Beta Read, Platonic Cuddling, Platonic Relationships
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-26
Updated: 2019-07-06
Packaged: 2020-05-20 02:15:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 18,437
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19368028
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/InstantFire/pseuds/InstantFire
Summary: No matter your age, punishments are no fun. Despite being no fun, would you be willing to do anything to avoid said punishment?





	1. Seed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ignoring that they can summon things  
> Fanon characters not canon   
> The main mindscape is larger than Thomas’s setup

Honestly, it wasn’t that big of a deal. It was stupid. Just a joking jab taken too far. They made it out to be a mountain although it was simply a molehill. A couple of insults that turned to tinder, then with a single spark it started a fire. Metaphorically, that’s exactly what happened.

“Did you seriously say that?!” Virgil yells at Roman, the two of them bouncing insults and accusations back and forth. Virgil is backed against a wall, angry and uncomfortable. Naturally when feeling cornered or threatened most people will lash out harsher than needed.

“I don’t understand why you can’t get it through your thick skull." Roman retorts, firmly standing as to corner Virgil, making it so he can't run off. Though Roman knows it will only make matters worse, he doesn't want to stop fighting. The burning anger stifles his thoughts and ignores any reasonable way to discuss the topic at hand. “You never have any good ideas so why do you insist we listen to you, you parasite!”

“Wow Princey, insulting me, that’s never happened before… Oh wait... it has." He tugs his sleeves over his hands, nervously fidgeting yet trying to cover his current stress with sarcasm. Although Virgil normally avoids conflict as much as he can, he rarely turns down a fight and if he’s going to fight, he’s going to win.

Tension continues to grow, insults thrown back at each other like a messed up game of ping-pong. The yelling grows louder and louder making the very walls vibrate with every curse thrown. With no conclusion in sight, the two sides simply keep exchanging the same words and thoughts, recycling them with more venom each time. The room feels suffocating, air so thick you could cut it with a dull plastic knife.

As the war continues, Logan descends from the stairs frowning. His posture becoming more stiff, eyes glaring and mouth pulled into a tight frown. Now, Logan was used to being ignored but getting their attention now would feel like a kitten meowing next to a jet engine. In short, he would never get them to stop.

“Freak!”

“Disney wanna be!”

“Nightmare!”

“Egomaniac!”

“YOU’RE JUST A DISORDER!” The second those words fell from his mouth Roman slaps his balled up fist to cover his mouth, effectively punching himself in the face.

Immediately after he hears this cruel twist of words, Virgil hunches over, his form stiff, ready to flee as soon as the opportunity presents itself. _This is exactly what I needed today, thanks Roman. Already had a panic attack today, might as well get another one._  Sarcasm leaks through his own thoughts.

Before Roman even has a chance to open his mouth, a third party begins to step down the carpeted stairs. It wasn’t a normal casual step but instead hard thumps trying descend swiftly, determined to be heard. 

“Ok Kiddos! That’s it! I thought I’d give you a chance to work it out together but it seems neither of you are capable of reason.” Patton arrives on the final step, nudging Logan away and stepping into the line of chaos. Eyebrows furrowed and eyes harsh.

“But Virgil start-”

“It doesn't matter who started it," The anger in Patton's face smooths out into a disappointed glare, "You need to learn how to fix it. Now, apologize.”

Despite both being in the wrong, Virgil and Roman refuse to acknowledge each other, faces still red from yelling, tempers barely contained. They were ready for round two.

“Well..?” Patton prompts, holding his arms out and signalling for them to continue.

Roman starts, “I’m sorry you never have any good ideas.”

Virgil sneers back, “At least I actually help Thomas instead of playing pretend all day!” And suddenly the tension and anger between the two is back tenfold.

“I’d rather create dreams and motivation for Thomas instead of freaking out every time he steps outside!” Logan and Patton share a look of irritation before focusing on the spectacle at hand.

“Well, sorry for keeping Thomas alive. Maybe I should be more like you," Virgil glares at the Prince harder than physically impossible but hey, the laws of reality don’t need to work when you’re inside someone's mind, "Yeah more like you! Maybe I’ll try to convince Thomas to go cliff diving without a bungee cord or even better let’s go swim with some bloodthirsty sharks while we're at it!”

For a second time Roman opens his mouth to object but once again he's swiftly interrupted.

“THAT’S IT YOU’RE BOTH GROUNDED!” Patton’s face was red, his hands at his sides in fists. The quick outburst shocks everyone momentarily and halts more words from being said. Even Logan jumps a bit at Patton’s rarely used tone. Patton, despite wearing in a cat onesie and with traces of glitter sparkling in his hair, made everyone frightfully scared.

“I-,” you’d think Roman would have learnt his lesson after being interrupted twice, but no, no he didn’t.

“You’re both grounded!” Patton states. There was no room for negotiation.

Yet, Roman raises a finger to protest once more. A stern glare from Patton quickly changes his idea. Roman huffs, annoyed by this prospect yet he knows it is a final decision.

A soft whimper breaks through the momentary silence. Everyone’s heads whip over to the source of said sound. A drastic change of emotions flows across everyone when they look at Virgil. He was standing as straight and as tense as one could be, with eyes wide and frightened. Another choked whimper is forced through his lungs. In the next second, before anyone could react, Virgil begins breathing heavily, no not breathing, hyperventilating. Patton is the first to react, pushing Roman out of his way and crouching down to look into Virgil’s eyes.

“Virgil honey, what’s the matter?” His only response is a choked sob and tears spilling past his eyes. When Paton reaches out to grip one of his shoulders, a tight and pained shriek fills the air and the sobbing comes back full force. “I’m sorry baby, you’re safe here I promise.” His hands hover above Virgil, wanting to wrap him in a hug but too scared of hurting him.

Roman and Logan get over their shock and goes to crouch by Patton and the terrified side.

“No-no-no-no-no-no, please don’t, please don’t! I’m sorry! I’m so sorry!” Virgil began shaking like a leaf in a storm, tucking himself in a ball. Roman was the next to try and grab the sobbing boy’s hand. “NO!” Virgil pushes the hand away, his breathing was getting more and more erratic as the room began to darken. Roman looks at the other two for any indication they might know what to do next. Patton looks lost and hurt, not knowing what to do yet worried because his kiddo was obviously suffering but can't do anything to help. Logan looks puzzled.

Logan then accesses the situation before he speaks, “Patton, Roman, It appears Virgil is in the midst of a panic attack. I suggest we back off as to not overwhelm him.” Quickly the other two obey.

Virgil keeps muttering indecipherably, the only words anyone is able to understand were a flurry of “No, please, I’ll be good, sorry.” His shaking continues and now it seems as though Virgil isn't breathing at all. Panicking, he tries to dig further into the wall to escape this situation. His thoughts are in fractures, his brain not getting enough oxygen isn't helping either.

“Virgil, Virgil, you need to calm down! You’re going to make yourself pass out!” Roman starts pacing back and forth trying to rid himself of this nervous energy.

“Well done Roman, you cured him. Incredible.” Logan looks back to Roman as he speaks with dry sarcasm.

“Oh I’m sorry Microsoft Nerd! At least I’m doing something!” There must be something in the water because a second fight breaks out this day.

“Be quiet you two!” Patton lectures. The fatherly side begins softly coaching Virgil on his breathing exercises. “Good job Virgil, you’re doing so good! Just keep it up!” He encourages not even knowing if he is being heard.

 _I didn’t think the light sides grounded each other. I can’t do this again. **You deserve it!**_ His thoughts spit at him _. I know! I know! But I can’t do it! Please don’t make me do it! **You’re bad! You need to be punished!** I’ll be good! Please I’ll be good!_ Despite these panicked thoughts swirling together in an ugly symphony Virgil can make out another voice. A voice much weaker and quieter than the others but so much warmer. He knows who it is immediately.  _Patton! Patton help me please! Patton, Patton, Patton!_ His thoughts now concentrating in an attempt to follow the soft voice, the voice which he knows will help him.

“There you go sweetheart, keep following my breathing.” A tight sad smile graces his features, turning more and more real as the smaller side begins to calm down.

Roman and Logan are within arms reach of Patton, both waiting for Virgil to come to. “Roman," Patton interrupts his thoughts, "Go get some water and make room on the couch.” Roman, without question, runs away to do just that.

“Patton?” Logan’s unsaid question hangs in the air.

“I’m going to move him to the couch soon, I don’t want him to be cornered when he wakes up.”

“Ah.” Was all Logan had to say.

Little by little Virgil’s breathing seems to follow the pattern. His shaking starts to slow and he lifts his head to stare at whoever is talking above him. Patton notices immediately.

“There you are! I was getting worried you’d gotten lost in there!” A small but real smile now replaces the previous fake one. Virgil meets Patton’s eyes and a new set of tears spill over. As soon as Patton opens his arms to the still crying side, Virgil lunges into them and starts sobbing anew.

“I’m s-so sorr... sorry,” he trails off into a new on-wave of tears, “I promise I won’t do it ever again!” Patton’s heart feels funny, as if it was stabbed with some sort of need. A need to keep Virgil safe and make sure he was loved. After a few minutes of clutching desperately at Patton did Virgil finally notice Logan in the room. Logan’s glasses are pushed firmly on his face and the look he is giving Virgil is calculated, as if he is trying to pry into the crying boy’s thoughts.

“Logan,” Patton begins, “It’s very rude to stare.”

“Of course, my apologies Virgil, I was simply trying to make sure you are alright.” Seemingly emotionless Virgil can pick out a hint of concern and a pinch of something else… whatever it is, it makes the side feel as if he's under a microscope. Virgil hides his face under Patton’s chin, the moral side rocking and whispering encouragements.

A moment later, Patton starts to unwrap his arms from around Virgil and moves to stand up.

 _Why’s he leaving! What did I do wrong?! Please don’t leave me dad! I’m scared_. A whimper and whine is voiced as Patton fully dislodges himself. _I’m sorry Patton. I’m sorry for making you hug me. **You’re so selfish, making people touch you. You’re disgusting.**_  Yet still he longs for more touch.

Hearing the small whine Patton looks down at Virgil. “Hey, hey, I’m not leaving buddy. I thought we’d move to the couch. It will be much more comfortable there.” This encourages Virgil and he stands up quickly… too quickly. The room spins as Virgil clutches his head and stumbles, almost falling to the ground.

At that second, Roman comes back, “Sorry it took so long Padre,” Seeing Virgil up and moving, well more like swaying, the Prince drops the bottle of water and rushes forwards. Fast strides across the room lets him catch Virgil easily.

Prepared for a sudden pain, the purple clad side braces himself almost instinctively. Luckily, instead of falling onto the hard ground, Virgil finds himself caught by a strong set of arms. Patton gasps and goes to carry Virgil. “It’s ok Patton, I’ve got him. Let’s move to the couch.”

Like a small kitten, Virgil opens his eyes and wiggles around, trying to determine what's going on. Roman makes soft shushing sounds holding Virgil tighter. “I’ve got you.”

Instantly Virgil’s eyes shoot open and he fully comes to, struggling more aggressively. Again, Roman tightens his grip, one hand under his knees and the other cradling his back. “Calm down Charlie Frown, I’m just carrying you to the couch.”

“Roman?” Virgil questions.

“The one and only!” As if setting down the most precious of treasures, Roman lowers his bundle on the couch, laying him down softly.  
  
“Why-wh… What happened?” For the millionth time this day, Roman opens his mouth and is immediately interrupted.

First, Logan sets down a glass of cool water. “You should drink this. You might be dehydrated.”

Second, Patton comes back into view. “Sorry Virgil, wanted to grab some blankets.” And blankets he did grab, a large pile covering Patton’s face is dumped onto Virgil, effectively drowning him in soft, cozy fabric. Logan steps away quickly, taking the untouched drink with him. Virgil shuffles around until only his face is visible. Patton squeals, “You look so cute right now!” A bright red blush creeps across Virgil's face. The father figure then proceeds to dig into the mountain and coerce the trapped emo so he is laying atop Patton’s chest. Virgil just snuggles closer.

“As I was saying,” Roman continues, his voice boisterous so he couldn’t get interrupted again. “Virgil, you had a panic attack, quite a bad one as well.”

The small side, now with a clearer head, remembers everything from the fight till his panic. _**Now look what you’ve done! If they weren’t aware of how pathetic you are before, then they sure are now.**_ Stubborn tears leaked from his face despite Virgil trying to get ahold of himself. _What kind of coward am I that I can’t even face a basic punishment! Pathetic. Now you’ll be in more trouble than before._ “Oh.” he says lamely.

“Do you want some water Virgil? I highly suggest taking it.” Logan thrusts the cup towards Virgil. Despite not being very good with emotions, acts like that is how the sides know he cares.

“Sure,” Virgil’s shaking hands grabs the cup.

“I think we need to talk hun.” The oldest side says as he rubs Virgil’s back soothingly.

Virgil nearly chokes on his water. _Why am I so surprised, of course they’d want to know why you overreacted so much. This time I’ll accept my punishment like Roman seemed to._ He nods his head but still drinks as slowly as possible, trying to avoid the inevitable. When he finishes and has nothing more to stall time with, Virgil sits up straight, moving himself away from Patton, _I don’t deserve him,_  and prepares for his punishment.

“First off,” Logan speaks first, Virgil hates when Logan does the lecturing, he's hard to read and never shows what he was feeling. “What caused this attack?” _Great… Straight to the point aren’t you Logan. Ok, let’s try to make my answers as least pathetic as I can. **You’re always pathetic.**_

“Um,” Every pair of eyes are trained on him making him shrink into himself. “I just got overwhelmed I guess. The fight made me a little more panicked than usual." His mouth goes dry as he realizes he hasn't gotten punished yet.

Roman stays quiet as Patton speaks next, “That makes sense kiddo.”

Roman is sitting across from Patton and Virgil. Guilt gnaws at his heart.

“I think you two have learnt your lesson, you’re not grounded if you apologize to each other.”

Immediately, before Patton fully completes his sentence, Virgil perks up and begins apologizing furiously at Roman. “I’m so sorry for yelling at you and calling you names. Anything I said wasn’t true. You’re super useful. I’m in the wrong, I was bad. Please forgive me. I promise this will never happen again!” This is a whirlwind of an apology. Virgil keeps glancing at Roman, then at Patton, then back at Roman, searching their faces to make sure he was saying enough. There was silence as Virgil stops speaking. _Why isn’t anyone saying anything!? Did I do it wrong? Do they want more groveling? Do they want something else? I don’t know! Someone tell me! I’ll do anything!_

Roman ends the silence first. “That was a bit dramatic Verge. You sounded like me for a second.”

Virgil’s face turns pale. _Does he think I’m mocking him? Was it not good enough? Oh god, what if I get more grounded than before!_

Letting out a hearty laugh, the Prince continues. “Yes, I’ll forgive you, I’m also sorry, my behaviour was not fit for a prince such as myself.”

“See! That wasn’t so hard! I’m glad you guys are friends again! Now what do you three think about tomato soup for lunch?” Everyone nodded, Virgil nods a bit too fast Patton notes. All other questions and concerns are pushed away. Virgil’s fine now. Everything was back to normal…


	2. Sprout

 Normality isn’t always what it seems, well when one may try to act as normal, another will become suspicious. You see, the only normal we’ll ever have is the normal we don’t try to achieve. Normal as a conscious thought brings concerns to light. Am I normal? Is this how I act? How I think? Even the littlest behaviours are mulled over thus the illusion of normal is shattered. Perhaps someone should have told Virgil.

  _Ok, this is easy, I descend the stairs… do I walk? Sneak? Both. Both is good. Wait… should I have my hood on? No. That will make me look like I’m hiding. I am hiding though._ Virgil’s hasn’t even stepped out of his room. Already picking at his thoughts, the normalities he achieves and his own actions turning against him twisting themselves into doubts. _Ok, I got… I got this. Just act normal._ Hand on the doorknob he takes a deep breath of air and twists. The door opens slowly not making a sound although every motion seems to be amplified in his anxious prone mind. _Do we have minds?_ First step successful. The air rushing out of his lungs, and he takes another step. _Maybe they’ve forgotten. It has been over twelve hours._ **_Do you think they’re goldfish?_ ** _So maybe not forgotten but hopefully they won’t try and bring it up again._

 Again a quiet step, another, another, another- wait! Before turning the corner and stepping downstairs, he stills, ear pressed closer and body held back. Listening. 

 It being noon, the sides are gathering at the table, it was Roman’s turn to cook. “Cooking” is a bit of a loose term. He never actually “cooks” anything.

 After a small mental battle of, ‘do I’ or ‘don’t I’. Down the steps he goes. _Into the lion’s den._ Virgil knows every creak in the house and which planks to avoid, it’s handy for two reasons; one, being able to walk completely silently, and two, making himself known without having to vocalize it. He sends his message with the creak of a step and it’s received as expected. 

 “Virgil! Just in time for lunch!” Everything is normal, Patton is always the first to greet, cheerfully and of course with a beaming smile.

 “ _Helloooooo_!” Next is Roman, loud and dramatic as always. What followed after his greeting is the pain of Virgil’s oncoming headache.

 “Greetings.” Logan. Always the last, too busy reading to react first. Virgil loves to keep track of these little oddities. It’s routine, it’s normal. 

 _“Hold on, what do I normally do? Think!”_ He pays so much attention to every detail around him yet never to his own normalities. 

 A pause.

 A cough.

 “Virgil?” Too long a beat. If normal is this, what in hell’s name strangeness? 

 “Right, ha, sorry. Uh. Hey.” _Yup. That was normal...  Oh, who am I kidding?_

 “Are you alright?” The awkward empty silence is not, in fact, normal.

 “Fine, just tired.” 

 “Virgil,” Logan begins, “It’s noon.” _Right_

 “Hey that’s alright! Last night was pretty, um, tiring?” Patton, bless his heart, gives him an out. “Anyways, sit down! Roman cooked us sand _witches._  And look! They even have cute tiny little brooms!” Dramatic and extra, yup that was Roman’s normal. 

 The lone chair is lonely no more and the chatter went on, small discussions over new interests and latest quests. All in all it was a normal lunch. 

 Normal never lasts forever.

 Time passes and Virgil finds himself back in his room, thinking about his current fears. He dwells over every detail. Every possible outcome and how to avoid the worst situation. _I need to be better. Never give them a chance to ground you. Be perfect. Be everything they want. I can do this. Just have to make a list of what to avoid. Easy._

 What to do:

  * Avoid annoying Roman
  * Avoid fighting with Roman
  * Avoid Roman in general



 He crumples that paper.

 What NOT to do:

  * Be mean (if I’m mean they’ll ground me for sure)
  * Be anxious (it will hurt Thomas and make them hate me more)
  * Be useless (helping everyone will make them happier with me so they won’t ground me)
  * Be myself 



 Ok, that last one might be difficult but Virgil is willing to do it. So long as the threat of a grounding hangs in the air, he will do everything within his power to keep it hanging. 

 With his mind set and his will stronger than ever, Virgil vows to follow through with this plan. Starting whenever he leaves his room… Which hopefully never happens.  _T_ _hey’ll get mad if I don’t come out for supper._ **_It’s not like they want you there anyways._ **

 The clock in the darkened room ticks onwards, its erratic hands moving, twirling over and over, it's a sick merry-go-round on crack. When the clock hits, ‘violently past seven’ and 'twice over four in a second’, Virgil knows he should head downstairs. Instead of arriving as late as possible, the new plan is to help with anything that Patton needs. 

 Walking down the stairs with purpose a fuelled plan, Virgil doesn't even announce his presence. He knows what he has to do, he has to be perfect. 

 The smell of a hot meal and quiet humming relaxes his tense muscles ever so slightly. “Hey Patton.” His tone is lighter and less serious than before. _Be good, be like Patton. Patton would never be grounded._

 Patton turns around, face covered in flower and hair seemingly looking like a snowy beacon of joy. “Virgil! Perfect timing! Would you like to taste test something for me?”

 “Yeah sounds good.” _Do exactly what Patton wants._

 “Perfect!” It’s a new pastry I’m trying for tonight's dessert! I call it cake-a-cola

 “...” Virgil stares. “Did you put coke-a-cola in this cake?”

 The one thing about Patton's cooking is he always likes to try new things. His spontaneous personality transfers to everything else he does. This includes his cooking. Sometimes it’s amazing, new flavours blending together so different yet melt so perfectly, but sometimes… let’s just say last time he baked Virgil became well acquainted with the bathroom toilet.

 “I’m hoping it will get a _rise_ out of Logan.” Virgil’s lip twitched upwards. “I know that pun is a little _half-baked_ but don’t yet it _grain_ on your parade!” This was normal, he liked this. Virgil tastes the sample presented to him. It tastes as if two Pepsi cousins had a child then threw him in a bitter dumpster. 

 “I love it Patton!” The pain in his stomach is worth Patton’s glowing smile.

 “So Patt, what else do you want me to do?” _I’ll do anything._

 “Could you start the soup for dinner kiddo?”

 “We having chicken soup?” It’s Patton’s favourite.

 “You _bread_ my mind!” Another twitch of the lip.

 They work in silence for a bit, Virgil staring at the soup, putting every ingredient in oh so cautiously. It has to be perfect.

 Patton had long since put the cake in the oven, the small space and hot oven heats the air around them. Virgil with his sweater is well past uncomfortable, it's stuffy and sweat drips off his forehead. He refuses to acknowledge it. Virgil’s face is red, cheeks burning up, his breathing more difficult with every intake.

 “Are you too hot in here Verge?” Patton looks over at him with concern.

 “No, 'm fine, why?”

 “Well I think it’s getting a little bit _toasty_ in here!” _It doesn't matter, I_ _ _will h_ elp no matter what. _“We’re almost done here, why don’t you go set the table for me?” Patton knows Virgil, he knows he won't tell anyone what’s bothering him until it’s killing him, no scratch that, until it has already killed him. Patton, from the bottom of his heart all way to the top, will make sure that never happens. The father figure pushes up his glasses, grabs some plates from the cupboard and hands them over.

 “Thanks Patton.” The porcelain shines brightly, the light bounces off them making them look strangely angelic. In a way they look perfect. **_Even plates are better than you._ **

 “It’s the _yeast_ I can do.” 

 Virgil pauses in his thoughts, this time giving a small amused huff in response. _I walked into that one…_

 Everything continues as normal, Virgil’s steps are lighter than before. Exchanging banter with Patton when he walks back into the kitchen for some cups or others things needed for the table.

 As so it is, the scene peaceful and quiet.

 “WHAT’S NEW PUSSYCAT?!” The sounds of a large crash and several rapid foot-steps later, his royal highness emerges in the kitchen. Virgil refrains from groaning or a making a quick, potentially mean jab. _Be nice._

 “Hi Roman!” Patton bounces back.

 “Hey Princy, what’s new?” Virgil uses the lightest tone when he speaks, Roman loves to talk, so let him talk.

 “Hello Little Stormcloud!” A smile lights up on his face, Roman waltzes over to the dinner table. “I have returned once again from creating timeless, unforgettable stories and sonnets for my new dramatic tale of LOVE, LIFE, and MORE LOVE!” 

 “That sounds wonderful Roman! Hey Virgil?” Virgil turns his head. “Do you mind getting Logan down here? I think he’s focusing on some new organizing thingy.” Virgil gives him a quick finger salute and sinks out to Logan’s domain.

 When Virgil arrives in Logan’s room, he notices that not a thing has changed from the last time he visited. Modern yet cosy, books of all kinds line the shelves and papers are neatly organized on a large desk next to a newly cleaned whiteboard. Nothing out of place save for a pencil on the floor. Virgil steps closer to the desk, Logan is leaning over the surface mumbling something unintelligible. 

 “Wow Logan, you sure made a mess in here.” Virgil leans against a wall. _Was that too mean?_

 “Hello Virgil, yes I am aware, I will clean it up in a moment.”

 “Lemme help.” Bending down he grabs it, placing the pencil perfectly aligned with the other eight pencils decorated on the left side of the desk. “Patton wants you to come down for supper. He also made dessert.”

 “Wonderful, though I am skeptical about the dessert, I will be down momentarily.”

 “K” And with that poetic word now out in the wind, Virgil sinks out.

 Eventually, they’re all settled at the table, the small feast then begins. During the whole of supper Roman describes every painstaking detail, every word, symbolism and action of his new creation. Normally Virgil would just tune him out or outright tell him to stop, but this isn’t a moment for normality. Instead he pays complete attention, despite him feeling his brain shrinking with every new sentence he'll never understand. 

 Finally, dinner comes to an end. Logan is the first to rise. Excusing himself to get back to work. Roman rises as well.

 Now, the details of 'how' and 'why' are not relevant, but within mere moments, Roman and Logan are at each other's throats. Something about work versus play. It escalates quickly. Patton tries to intervene but is ignored each time. Virgil stands in the kitchen watching the scene with muted interest.

 “Be serious Roman, we both understand that my duties are more important. Work comes first and silly imagination is second.” This seemingly hits a chord within Roman as he, with fire in his eyes, steps towards Logan matching his twin glare. Then, without further prompting, he shoves Logan roughly. 

 Without expecting the physical confrontation, Logan stumbles back and Virgil can only watch in horror as he trips and falls, his glasses fall with him and Virgil sees as they get crushed under his hand. The hands begins to slowly ooze and bleed.

 “Logan! I’m sorry, it didn’t mean to do that!” Roman backs away slightly, giving Logan room to pick himself up.

 Patton is next to them in a second. “Hey! You know better than that! Now look what happened.”

 A couple bandaids later and a bit of hovering, Patton then turns to a very guilty looking side.

 “I didn’t mea-” As per the usual Roman never gets to talk.

 “It doesn't matter what you meant or didn’t mean. You still hurt him. You’re grounded till you’ve learnt your lesson.” Patton declares while crossing his arms, huffing.

 No one pays attention to Virgil, the main focus of course on the Prince and the Brain. But if they were to look, they’d see a face drained of blood and a hand gripping, clutching, the utensils which were being washed in the kitchen sink.

 “Awwwww, come on Patton, spare me from that death sentence.”

  _Death? Oh no, ohnononono. This is bad, this is really bad!_ His grip on a fork tightens, turning his knuckles as white as his face.

 “Now don’t talk back to me mister,” Patton scolds, “You know what you did was wrong.” 

 “Fineeeeee, but if I die I want a golden casket, roses covering every surface, many people mourning and plenty of drama.” Virgil will honour these wishes. Roman might be dramatic but Virgil knows how he feels on the inside. He must be terrified. Logically, Virgil knows Patton would never hurt someone but logic isn't in the room with him (he's in the living room). As soon as the word 'grounding' is introduced Virgil's mind stutters, his thoughts stop and only anxiety remains.

 Logan and Patton give Roman no sympathy as he stomps away to his potential demise. 

 Virgil keeps his mouth shut, continuing to wash and dry. He doesn't want any of their attention. They might still be mad. He keeps this up, even when the dishes are done, he then cleans anything in his sight. Sweeping? Done that. Dusting? Accomplished. He even scrubs down the main bathroom. _When Roman comes back he needs to be as comfortable as possible._ **_If he comes back._** His brain helpfully supplies. Though Virgil never got these luxuries he’ll make sure Roman does if it kills him. He fluffs the towels, changing them if even a single spot is dirty. He refills all the soaps and shampoos with Roman’s favourite scents. Then, when there’s absolutely nothing to fix, nothing to clean and after the others have long fallen asleep, he sits on the couch and waits. The night commences.

  _Sides can’t die. Sides can’t die,_ he reminds himself of this fact with every second that passes. It’s lonely here, the couch. This couch which used to be Virgil’s favourite napping spot, now feels like cement as he sits. The sky outside the windows is darker than he remembers. _Roman probably can’t bring the moon out tonight._ That thought leaves a bitter taste in his mouth. 

Eyes tired and body drooping, the clock ticks on, every minute slower than the last. Finally, the first sight of dawn breaks through. Yet Roman hasn't come back.  _Roman must still be well enough though, to keep the sun rising._

 With that comforting thought in mind, he decides to return to his room, not wanting the others to see him. And so he retreats, Roman’s wellbeing a constant thought nagging in his mind.

 A full day passes with no sign of Roman. Virgil only leaves his room for dinner, he doesn't want to be caught in any potential crossfire. Every question directed at him every, “You look tired.” and “Are you ok?” he responds to politely, forced with all the positivity he can muster. The two others share looks of concern. They go unnoticed. The paranoia sinks deep into his core, he begins flinching at every movement and every sound. 

 Time passes and Virgil sits behind his door, ears listening, brain focused solely on picking up any sign that Roman has returned. Only disappointment and stress follow. He fears asking Logic and Morality about Roman, not sure what buttons he could set off. The bags under his eyes turn darker, both with fear and lack of sleep. He won’t sleep, he can’t, not until he knows everyone is safe. His constant alertness, paranoia and lack of sleep, are causing his mind to go into overdrive. Everything’s suddenly too loud, the ticking of his clock, the footsteps thudding everywhere and the doors squeaking open and slamming shut are all making his head pound. _No stopping,_  is what Virgil tells himself. _I can’t. I’ll need to help Roman. I won’t let him be alone for the aftermath_. He feels like he used to, those years ago, back when he was with _them_. 

 The morning of the second day comes. This time, Virgil refuses to come out almost all day. When he does, it's for less than a minute. He musters all the courage in him, takes a deep breath and asks Patton, “When is Roman ungrounded?” Morality’s response is exactly what he didn’t want to hear.

 “He’s not grounded anymore son, but he hasn’t come out yet.”

 Being the manifestation of anxiety, his brain jumps to the worst possible conclusions. _What if he’s hurt too badly to move? Stuck? Crushed? Suffocated?_ For the rest of the day, that’s all that runs through Virgil’s head.

 Now, Virgil’s used to tiring days and sleepless nights, but the constant worrying and alertness muddled his brain, stirring it like a cheaply made cake. _Patton never make things cheaply. Patton is good? Patton might ground me. Patton is good, I am not. Be perfect._ He refuses to sleep. He thinks and he worries and that is all.

 The third night comes, Virgil sits on the couch, staring blankly at the clock, counting every second that Roman is away. 3 days, 23 hours, 15 minutes and 21 seconds, 22 seconds, 23... He still listens to every sound, looks towards any movement but nothing happens… At least until now. 

The slightest creak of the floorboards sends Anxiety’s mind into overdrive. A step towards the stairs makes his heart nearly stop. Instinctively he jumps from his spot on the couch and hides himself in the shadows. His breath stills, heart pounds, brain screaming at him to run. He doesn't.

 A shadowy figure grips the rail and begins a slow walks downwards. Virgil narrows his eyes in the dark looking at every precise detail. He dares to hope. Finally, the figure reveals himself, shining in the bright moonlight, there’s no mistaking this man. Despite the ruffled hair, slouching posture and the dragging of feet, there he stands, in all his glory, Roman Creativity Sanders! 

 Virgil lets out a laugh, wet and relieved. 

 “ **Who’s there?! Show yourself fiend!** ” 

 Virgil jumps at the sudden hostility. This is not how he wanted to greet Roman.

 “Shhhhh! You’ll wake the whole mindscape up!” Despite the world tilting to the side and eyes blurring, Virgil emerges from the shadows, holding his hands up in a placating manner. Roman visibly relaxes, he lets out an unamused sigh.

 Roman’s voice lowers to his normal declarative tone. “Don’t do that, you sneaky shadowling!” 

 Stepping forwards, Virgil ignores the request. His eyes run up and down Roman’s body, checking for damage, watching and analyzing every little movement.

 “Looking for something Gazy McGazerton?” _Good, he hasn’t changed a bit._

 Instead of a response Virgil closes the gap between the two, anticipation rising slowly, the light of the moonlight accentuating every detail on Roman’s face. Both of their eyes locking. Gazing deeply into Roman’s eyes, Virgil reaches out his hand gripping Roman’s jaw... and begins turning his face around in a frenzied motion. Roman gets whiplash immediately.

 “Does this hurt? Any bruises, fractures or broken bones? How about your chest,” Virgil quickly lets go of Roman’s face and begins poking him in the sides. “Does this hurt? How about this? Is it bruised at all?” Virgil glares the whole time, prodding now at his arms.

 “Stop it- ouch- vir- hey- don- Virgil!” Within a second Virgil’s hand are gripped tightly, he continues to struggle. “I wasn’t bruised before but I certainly am now!” Roman pushes Virgil’s hands away and takes a large step back. “What’s up with you? Though I adore being the center of attention, this is not in the way that I prefer!”

 “I’m just making sure you’re alright, you were grounded for days! Did you take a shower already? Have you been coughing a lot?”

 “What is this, twenty questions? Of course I showered! I’m offended that you would think otherwise. I did get something stuck in my throat earlier, but fear not! I conquered the enemy of my throat!”

 “That’s good, that’s really good. What was being grounded like for you?”

Never being one to turn down a dramatic scene Roman begins to lamant. “Oh the horror! The terror! I wast did trap! Suffocated coequal! Mine own mind ceased yet only the comforting bethought of freedom receiveth me through yond nightmare!”

 Roman then watches as Virgil’s face darkens, looking more serious than he’s ever seen before. “Don’t worry Roman, I won’t let it happen again.” It’s a vow and a promise, never to be broken, not even in death. 

 Virgil’s words struct Roman as very strange, definitely not normal. Roman then raises an eyebrow in a silent question. “Okayyy then… Thanks?” 

 Darkness covers the two, the moonlight hiding, perhaps in fear, perhaps in sorrow. It matters not. “Can I do anything for you? Do you need any help?” The smaller side’s face darkens again, the question hangs in the air. Virgil willing to help at any cost.

 This was not normal. Roman is utterly confused yet too tired to keep going with this conversation. “I _need_ to go get some well-deserved rest.” Whatever he had planned to do when coming down the stairs is long forgotten. The Prince turns away and begins climbing back up the stairwell. 

 “Right. Yes. You deserve to rest. Wake me up if there’s anything I can do. Anything.” 

 No reply from the creative side. At the sound of a heavy door shutting, Virgil smiles, happy tears now fill his eyes. _I did it. I can rest now! …_ **_No, you can’t!_ ** His plans of sleep interrupted as a new train of thought crashes into him. **_What if he has nightmares? What if he breaks down? You need to stay awake. You need to protect him._ **

 And so, the fourth sleepless night drags on, Virgil posted against Roman’s door, ready to jump in at any worrying sound. _This is fine. This is normal._

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another day another chapter. Also been listening to a lot of John Mulaney stories, hence the "what's new pussy cat" as said by Roman. Anyways, these comments truly fuel my love of writing. But don't feel bad if you're not able to comment or simply don't want to. I love all of you readers! Any constructive criticism is greatly welcomed!


	3. Bloom

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok wow. That was a much longer wait than I wanted. I do have good reasons though. I wasn't just lazy haha. Family troubles, heat stroke, and casual accidents really stifle my ability to have free time. Also, this chapter was faaaar longer than originally planned. Sorry if it drags on. Let me know if it does.

It’s sad the things we normalize. Ideas, situations and habits, all things strange. If the strange goes on for long, one begins to accept such a fate. Even the most painful of conditions can be accepted and will eventually feel like just another Tuesday.  

.

“Logan?” Patton rises into the logical side’s room, hands rubbing together nervously. 

“Hello Patton, what is it that you want? If it’s about that strange noise in your room again, I can assure you that it isn’t another spider trying to lure you under the be-”

“No. It’s not about that again.” Patton sighs, scratching the back of his neck sheepishly. 

The room goes quiet for a brief moment. Logan, previously scrawling on his whiteboard, turns around to address Patton. He makes a gesture signalling for Patton to continue. “Well… I’ve been thinking about a possible situation that might maybe happen and I don’t know what I would do.”

“I thought it was Virgil’s job to worry about the, _what if‘s,_ of potential plights.”

“Funny you should mention it, my _maybe situation_ , is actually about him.” 

 Logan observes Patton for a moment. Fiddling with his hands, shuffling his feet and avoiding eye-contact. Sure signs of nervousness. Pondering these signs, Logan knows that the cheerful side is rarely nervous. Logan concludes that whatever Patton has come to him for help, it most likely isn’t pleasant. “Go on.” 

“You remember that panic-attack Virgil had about a week ago?” He doesn't wait for Logan to answer, “Well, I was thinking about it, and since Thomas has been overwhelmed a lot lately, we all have been a little… restless.”

“I apologize Patton, I believe you will need to go into further detail.”

“We all have been fighting more.”

“Ah. And?”

“What if I have to ground Virgil again?” Patton begins to explain, “Like, should I? What if he panics again? I know I can’t just let him get away with whatever, but I don’t want him to, y’know, panic.” He finishes, now making full eye-contact with the other.

Logan begins to rub his chin, he knows emotions aren’t his forté, but he never intends for anyone to be hurt. “There are two options in this situation,” Patton tilts his head curiously, “The first is to not punish Virgil. However, as you mentioned before, with Thomas so tense there will likely be more of these disagreements between us. The second option would obviously be grounding him if he gets metaphorically, “out-of-hand”.” He ponders for a second, “Nevertheless, I believe it’s possible to ground him without him panicking excessively.”

“What do you mean?” Patton inquires.

“I’m proposing that we let him calm down a while, wait until he’s less defensive and then we let him know of his punishment.”

The fatherly side brightens slightly, “Oh. That, that might work! And maybe after we cou-” He’s cut-off unexpectedly by a sudden, fearful shriek. Immediately, Patton and Logan drop their discussion and sprint across and out of the room.

The door swings open, they look down the hall to Roman’s door, in which the screech had come from. Without the panicked yell, the situation that the two found would be quite comical to observe.

A startled Roman is on the ground in a messy, arching, plank position and underneath him, lay an equally shocked Virgil. The smaller side is covering his head, most likely attempting to not be crushed by Roman above him. 

Patton holds back a snicker and walks towards the pair. “Do you kiddos need any help?” He tries hard not to laugh, not quite managing it entirely.

“That would be wonderful Padre.” Roman graciously accepts the hand Patton extends. “It seems as if Mr. Creepy-Cookie here has attempted to sabotage me.” 

“Wsn’t doing that.” Virgil mutters, squirming out from under Roman.

Once everyone is back-up on their feet, a question hangs in the air. Logan is first to ask it. “What exactly… happened?”

Glancing angrily over at Virgil, who in turn glares right back, Roman starts his tale. “There I was, awoken from my slumber peacefully, listening to the sounds of the birds until I felt fit to face the day! I then opened my door, ready to take my turn as head chef for breakfast. But _someone,”_ He glares harder at Anxiety, “decided to sit outside my door waiting to trip me!”

An awkward silence fills the air as everyone (of course with the exception of Virgil) turns their heads attentively to listen to the other side of the story. “Uh… I… I wasn’t doing that.” 

“Than what _were_ you doing?” Roman asks skeptically.   

Virgil is currently looking about as handsome as a drowned rat. Decorated around his eye’s is a darkened, raccoon themed mess, his hair stands upwards at every direction and clothes ruffled to fit the rest of his gaunt image. “I just wanted to sit down for a bit.”

“... In front of my door.”

“... Yes.” Both voices sounding as dry as the last time Roman made cereal for breakfast. Seriously, who can make dry cereal? While using milk! Roman can! That’s who!

Once more, the awkward silence permeates the air.

 _Ok. So. Maybe leaning directly against Roman’s door wasn’t the best idea. It also didn’t help that I fell asleep._ **_He could have died from your negligence._ ** _Wait, how long did I sleep for? Hm, so last night I checked my phone and it was five o’clock. Well…  it was either that or five thousand, five hundred and fifty-five, it was too blurry to tell. I’m pretty certain that it was five. So that’s about, um, three hours?_ Virgil still feels lingering stares directed to him.

“You don’t look good.” Creativity finally says.

“You’re not looking like a model yourself Princey. 

“No, _I meant,”_ Roman drawls _, “_ You look sick or something.”

“He’s right kiddo, do you feel dizzy? Sick? Hot? Cold?” Patton asks, trying to be helpful.

“No Patt, I’m feeling fine.” Normally Virgil doesn’t like to lie, but in that phrase he stuffs so much falsehoods into it, it would make Deceit blush. **Deceit**.

“You don’t look fine.” Continues Patton. 

He glances hopefully at Logan, wanting the logical side to stop being so silent and tell the worried sides that he’s fine. Logan finally answers, “I agree with Patton, you look quite below-par from your average state.” Once again, Virgil feels like he’s under serious examination, a test subject waiting to be poked. 

Virgil now wishes that Logan had kept quiet. In a last attempt to salvage things, Virgil tries to take the easy way out, “Thanks for your concern and all, but I’m fine. I just didn’t sleep well, that’s all.” 

“You said that the last hundred times we asked.” Once again, Roman being as helpful as usual.

“And it’s been true every time I say it.” He lies. You know, like a liar.

“Probably ‘cause you slept against my door.” Roman mutters in response.

“That’s enough Roman, why don’t Logan and me and you-”

“Ahem. The proper way would be, _you, I and Logan._ ”

“Thank you Logan,” Patton smiles at him, “Why don’t you, I and Logan go get some breakfast while Virgil gets some more sleep.”

“Sorry Dad, I wouldn’t be able to sleep. Already had a couple cups of coffee.” _Deceit would be so proud of me right now…_ “I’ll come with and just hang out.” With his shaking hands in his pockets, his overwhelming exhaustion covering him like a blanket and his aching body weighing him down, he smiles his half grin and walks down the hall. 

“Ok.” Patton calls to Virgil just as he reaches the first step, “Just no more fighting.”

Virgil freezes, just realized what he had been doing, his voice has been on autopilot and he was speaking his mind. _Oh shit! I was fighting with them! I wasn’t agreeing! I was fighting! This is bad! I’m definitely toeing the line of being punished right now! I’ll have to make it up to them!_ “If it’s ok with you Roman, I think I’d like to cook breakfast today. I haven't done that in a while, skipped out on a couple days already” _It’s a start._

Roman agrees promptly, always happy to do the least amount of domestic work possible. Patton and Logan look unconvinced of Virgil’s ability to cook at the moment, but still, they say nothing.

The one good thing about being exhausted, is no matter what happens, good or bad, one will simply be too tired to care about the events around them. That is, if you’re not the embodiment of anxiety itself. If, for you, it happens to be the case, you may suffer from additional stress topped onto the previous stress like a moldy double scoop ice-cream, that’s also on fire for some reason. 

Absolutely every sound, every tick and every tock, was driving Virgil further into madness. Nothing was right! Nothing was normal! Virgil’s derailed himself, helpless to get back on track. He’s a train that keeps on chugging, even if it’s doing more harm than good. However, as long as Patton, Roman and Logan are happy with him, he will _never_ stop.

Even thinking about what he should make for breakfast is a hurricane of what if’s swirling around disaster in its wake. _What do I make? What should I make? What do they like to eat? Yeah, that would be perfect! I’ll make something they all love! They have to be happy with me then!_ There’s a thought, a plan and now he merely needs to decide on what to make and how to make it. _Easy. Easy? ...Ugh I’m so tired._ Nearing the kitchen Virgil almost stumbles, his eyes drooping and head screaming. 

The chattering of the others pulls him from his thoughts, he looks blankly at them, unsure of what he wanted to ask. _Wait. I remember now._ “So what should I make? Any suggestions?” He tries to sound as casual as possible. The slight slur in his voice doesn’t help his case.

Patton jumps to the question, “Waffles! No! Pancakes! No! Wancakes!” 

“Omelets would be healthier and would give us positive energy, nutrition and other helpful bonuses.” Logan looked directly into Virgil’s eyes. Specifically enunciating every word, trying to drill the idea into Virgil’s head. 

“Yulch.” Roman’s face twists into one of disgust, “I think it would be splendid to have something new for once! I believe we should try, biscuits with pancetta, with a side of crofters, collard greens, marbleized eggs, and espresso aïoli.”

Three blank stares focus on the creative side, the creative side who, is currently living up to his name. Logan huffs. “Roman, if I may-” 

“You may not.” Roman quips.

“I think that’s a little, how do you say, _extra_. Did you know that a chemical combination, specifically, C5H8NO4Na or monosodium glutamate if you prefer-” 

“I don’t.”

Logan glares, “Is found in espresso aïoli, and can cause consequential damage in the cervical cortex.”

Roman rolls his eyes. “Here’s a piece of information for you as well Microsoft Nerd. Did you know that if you were an element, you’d be _Bore_ rium.” 

“Bohrium is a strange, mysterious element that fascinates scientists everywhere. I’ll take that as a compliment.” 

“I’ll take you as a com-” The potential offence is hindered as a plate of waffles is set down in front of Patton, the smell wafting under everyone's noses. 

Virgil stands back and shrugs at the other two. “Patton gets first plate. You two were busy.” He shrinks back bit realizing that he’s talking back at them. “Sorry.” He mumbles inaudibly. His head continues to pound and every little word is grating on his already thin patience. Everything is too much! Too loud! “Do you guys still want… whatever you said you wanted?” _I can’t remember anything._ **_You’re messing up again._ **

“I believe I’ve changed my mind-”

“I want what he’s having!” Roman points at Patton, completing Logan’s sentence.

Patton, who, at this moment, is shoving a whole pancake into his mouth. Syrup drips everywhere. He smiles.

Virgil nods his head and hurries back into the kitchen. A second later Roman calls out, “Dibs on the second plate!” 

The discussion at the table is muted as the youngest’s ears start ringing. Virgil stumbles his way over to the stove, pouring more batter onto the frying pan, and watching with satisfaction as it sizzles and fries. 

As he focuses intently at the rounded pancakes, the edges of his eyes begin to blur as dark spots cover his vision. Everything tunnels into blackness for what felt like a split second. A sudden burst of adrenaline spikes him awake. Surrounded by smoke, he hears an ear-splitting cry of alarm. The fire alarm. He fans the air around him, hacking as his lungs burn, thick with soot. Something grabs his arm and yanks him away from the scene. Without opening his eyes he can feel the soft yet steady grip in his arm and instantly knows it’s Patton. 

He tastes ash. His eye’s tear up, partly from the stinging of black dust or partly from his embarrassment and frustration. _I really messed up this time. I’m going to be killed! They’re gonna hurt me, I know it! Amazing job!_ _You succeeded in not only burning the house down, but ruining their breakfast! Stupid! Stupid!_ ** _You’re going to get grounded._** _Nononononono!_  

“-ir-l... Ver-... bud-y…” It’s hard to hear anything over Virgil’s loud coughing. He feels his lungs slamming into his ribs, pressure unlike anything he’s ever felt. **_That’s a lie._ **

Patton grips Virgil’s sweater, trying to drag the both of them to the living room couch. In the background he can hear Roman and Logan yelling, both of them extinguishing the fire and trying to get that god-awful smoke alarm to stop shrieking. He still isn’t sure of what just happened. They were sitting at the table. Yes. Patton was licking the excess syrup from his plate. Yes. Everything was normal. No. They all smelt it before they saw it. A burning stench corrupting the air. Swiftly, they all shot up as the alarm began to blare. His stomach dropped when he realized Virgil was caught in the middle. That was his first priority. It was hard to see, the ocean of smoke refusing to release its grip on the air. Patton grabbed blindly into the unknown, and caught his hand on a familiar sweater. He yanked the arm and dragged them both out of the kitchen. 

The smoke begins to clear, Roman is sneezing in the kitchen. A small “gesundheit” is accompanied after each seize. A final “gesundheit” is heard and both red and blue exit the kitchen, regrouping around the couch.

Logan pushes his glasses up- addressing Patton “Fortunately, there was no damage done.”

“Except this.” Roman waves a melted mess of a spatula. The plastic solid once more, but now looks more like mangled chew toy than its original form.

“It was simply a case of letting both the spatula and the esculents un-moved for a large sum of time.” Logan then turns to address Virgil. “Firstly, are you unharmed? Secondly, what was it you were trying to accomplish? I assume the current outcome was not your original plan.”

“... ‘m fine.” Backing away from the rest of the group, Virgil sits at the far end of the couch and curls his arms around himself, hugging tightly. _Don’t cry. Whatever you do, don’t make this any worse than it already is. I can’t do anything right, so why bother trying?_ **_Groundings._ ** _Ok yeah, fair point ominous and hurtful voice in my head._ **_We are one and the same._ **“Do you really think I would do that on purpose?” He’s not sure how much more he can push through.

“Calm down son, Logan wasn't accusing you of anything. He just wanted to make sure.”

“Make sure I’m not trying to burn us all alive?” Virgil gives them all a dead stare. 

His statement was awkwardly ignored. They all jumped in unison as the fire alarm springs back to life sounding louder than the first time. “Are you serious? That device no longer contains batteries!” Logan struts to the fire alarm, takes a broom and starts whacking at it. 

“Logan hun, that’s not going to help!” Patton runs after him leaving Roman and Virgil alone.

“Pffft," Roman starts to snicker, “You’re really good at messing up today Hot Topic.” Grinning he looks over at Virgil who still sits at the end of the couch unmoving.

 _I’m so tired. Nothing is good. Nothing I’m doing is good._ Virgil ran out of energy long ago, only staying awake from the power of post-near-death adrenaline and the fear of what’s to come. _Maybe I can still save this._ **_They’re going to ground you._ ** _No! No..._ He sinks more into himself.

“Dr. GlooOOoooM, are you listening to me?” Have you ever heard of the expression _patience hanging by a thread?_ Virgil certainly has. For someone so fearful of what could happen if he loses with temper, he has a lot of strings. They aren’t very strong anymore. 

“I'm doing everything just fine today.” Out loud, it sounds like a firm statement, but in his mind, it’s a desperate question. He _needs_ Roman to tell him it’s ok. More panic fizzles into his brain.

“Argh!” Logan angrily shouts, he’s finally silenced that monstrous nightmare. “Aaaaaauuuuugh!” He tilts his head back, the smoke detector now fallen to the floor in pieces. Patton is at his side patting his head gently.

Roman begins laughing again, “I almost never see Logan like this! He’s so angry!” Tears of laughter fall from his eyes. “Oh he’s so going to ground you after this!” Roman is almost rolling on the floor at this point.

“No he isn't…  Is he?” _I’ve messed up! I’ve messed up bad!_ Virgil’s breath quickens oh so slightly. He has no energy for this. A thread of patience snaps in his brain, he looks at Roman in a frenzy. 

“Who knows? Here’s a flawless tip for you to not get grounded, it works every time.” Roman continues to snicker.

“Tell me!” Virgil looks to Roman who, is no longer paying him attention.

“Yeah! Here’s the tip! If you stopped being anxiety you’d never get grounded!” Roman is near killing himself, staring at the scene, crying and trying to breathe. If Virgil’s brain was working properly he might realize that it was all in jest, but his brain was working about as well as the melted spatula would. Another thread of patience snaps.

At last, the _Great War of Technology vs Man_ has ended, Logan and Patton walk away from the mess, sitting back down around the couch. Virgil bites his thumb as hard as he can, it begins to bleed. _Calm down! Calm down. You can’t let them know your upset!_ **_Get a grip._ ** _Why does everything hurt so much?! Look, if I can just prove everything’s fine, maybe they will shrug it off._ **_That’s stupid._ ** _I have to try!_

A couple deep breaths are the gateway to normal. Next, Virgil unfurls himself in an attempt to look more casual. Lastly, he twitches the corners of his mouth upwards and crinkles his lips into a smile. _I can do this._ **_No you can’t._ **

Seeing Virgil move out of the corner of his eye, Patton turns around looking at his face. “Umm.. Virgil? Is something wrong with your face?” The smile is so forced and Virgil’s eyes are so dead, it looks like something R. L. Stein might create.

"No. This is how I smile." Virgil builds his walls, he fights against the waves of dismay and terror, he refuses to break.

“That does not qualify as a smile. Personally, I would group it into the melted plastic category.” 

“Virgil’s a spatula?” Patton chirps.

“I’m not a spatula. This is my new style.” Virgil talks through gritted teeth. He can almost hear another snap of thread.

“Kiddo, you’re acting really weird.” 

“I’m _acting_ like what I should be!” 

“A mess?” Roman chimes in, face still red from laughter.

“No! I’m being what you wanted!” The room seems to get hotter.

“I’m confused Virgil, I possess no memory of any of us desiring anything in which you could provide. You must be mistaken.”

The room is silent, whether anyone is talking, Virgil could hear none of it. The last thread of patience gives in. That is it! His body feels too hot, his ears rigging, eyes stinging, brain frizzing, everything is WRONG!

“SHUT UP! SHUT UP-SHUT UP! **SHUT!** **UP!** I CAN’T DO THIS ANYMORE! I’M TRYING! I’M TRYING SO HARD! BUT NOTHING’S WORKING! I HATE THIS! I HATE YOU!” Anger and dismay scream in unison. Banshee wails and demonic echoes fill the void inside.

The touch of a hand burns scorchingly on his own. Virgil shoves the arm away with as much force as he can muster. “STOP IT! BE QUIET! JUST LET ME THINK! **DON’T TOUCH ME!”** Virgil shrieks, demonic voice reigning over, as he completely breaks down, screaming about everything and nothing. 

**_SLAP!_ **

Virgil fumbles back, placing a hand to his throbbing cheek. All he hears is his own heavy breaths. Bloodshot eyes open slowly and he gazes around the room. 

Everything seems empty. With no more energy or passion, the world looks grey. Dull monochrome colours spread in every direction. He’s alone.

At least, that’s what he thought. A weak sniffle sounds behind him, he spins around drunkenly. There, on the floor, lies Patton. His wrist is cradled to his chest. Tears are pouring down his face and he won’t even look in Virgil’s direction. 

Behind him, Virgil’s hood is yanked roughly, he chokes for a second before he finds himself thrown none-to-kindly back onto the couch. He didn’t realize he had ever left. 

Roman stands above him. “What on earth do you think you’re doing?!”

Before Virgil responds, he watches as Logan comes rushing in the room. He carries with him a small kit and sets it down next to Patton. Virgil doesn’t take his eyes off the two as Patton’s wrist is wrapped with rolled bandage. The smallest side can feel Roman’s angry stare burning through him.

“Favourable news, your injury is scarcely a sprain and shall improve in no time.”

“Thanks Logan,” Patton sniffs, wiping tears from his eyes. “It doesn’t even hurt anymore.” He moves up from the ground and stand with Roman and Patton. He still won’t look Virgil in the eyes.

“Virgil, I believe you owe us all, especially Patton, an explanation for your behaviour.”

He’s miserable, he’s tired and feels as if he could explode at any second. Virgil makes no eye-contact and talks. “I-I don’t know. I just… I dunno.” He can’t find the words to continue, his guilt is eating him up and he knows what will happen next. His thoughts turn against him again. _They’re going to ground me! I know! I deserve it! I’ve been bad, so bad. I can’t!_ **_I’ll never be anything but the bad guy! I’m horrible! I hate myself! I hurt everyone! I need to be hurt! Look at them they’re so mad! They wanna hurt me! They want to hurt me! I know they do!_ ** _What if they send me back?_ Virgil hasn’t even considered that until this moment. His blood turns to ice, his breathing halts. _I would rather_ **_die._ ** He looks up, varying faces of anger and disappointment watch his every move. _I think I’ll get my wish…_

 _I just want a hug_.

“Are you serious?! That’s all you can say?” Roman seethes at him. Eye alight with disbelief. “Look what you’ve done! Because of your _fit,_ you’ve hurt Patton, you told us all you  _hated_ us and this is right after you nearly _SET THE KITCHEN ON FIRE_!” By the end of his rant the room is silent, save for the heavy breathing of Roman and slight sniffling from Patton.

“I didn’t mean it.” Virgil says softly.

“OOHH, you didn’t mean it! Well that just fixes everything! Pack it up! We’re done here! He “ _didn’t mean it”_. Air quotes and everything, Roman won’t ever give up his dramatic flair.

“Roman, that’s enough.” Logan scolds, but everyone knows he wouldn’t have stopped Roman had he continued. “Virgil. Don’t leave. Stay where you are and don’t move.”

Virgil begins to nod, but he’s ignored as the other three head to a different room. _They’re discussing what to do to me._ He tears up yet refuses to let them fall.

Once out of earshot from Virgil, the three other huddle together.

“His behaviour was unacceptable.” Logan starts.

“He pushed Patton!” Roman continues.

“It wasn’t that bad-”

“Patton, if you would please, do not think of Virgil’s feelings at the moment. We cannot let this keep happening.”

The moral side sighs and straightens up. “But what should we do?”

“We should just leave him to be alone for a while. He’s obviously not acting right. Just ground him already.” Roman looks at the two and it seems like the decision is made. “It’s for his own good.”

Patton sighs in agreement.

They return slowly, none of them pleased, no positive emotions could be felt. Virgil hasn’t moved from his spot, hasn’t moved his head or anything else for that matter.

“Virgil.” Emotionless and stern, Logan takes the lead. “We have discussed what should be done forthwith.”

“Sorry Virgil, but this isn’t healthy for anyone.” Patton, trying to soften the blow as always.

“Am I getting grounded?” Virgil knows what’s next.

Roman stays silent. Patton looks to Logan nervously. Logan nods.

They speak with the same breath.

“N-”

“You are grounded effective immediately.”

“Logan!”

“Was that not what we had discussed?”

Patton finally meets Virgil’s eyes. “It’s just until you get your feet back on the ground.”

The room is startled by a full frenzied laugh. “You sure are funny, I’ll give you that.” Virgil nearly cries.

“I didn’t make a joke…?”

Virgil refuses to be weak, refuses to be pathetic again. He will be like Roman. Defences up. He pulls up his hood and stuffs his shaking hands in his pockets. He glares. “Fine. Where should I go?”

“Your room?” Roman tells him.

“This is for you own good kiddo.” 

 **_Look at them, they’re mocking you. You deserve everything they do to you._ ** He lets out a sad huff. “Can I at least leave my jacket here?” _Please don’t make me wear it._

“If you want to.” The statement feels more like a question when it leaves Patton’s mouth.

Nodding, Virgil removes his jacket and folds it up neatly, placing it down on the nearest table. “Ok, I’ll go now.”

“Fantastic. Roman? Patton? I believe it would be beneficial as to not leave the kitchen in such a state of disarray.” Back in the kitchen soot covers the counter and floor. Some cutlery lay messily about and not to mention the pieces of fire alarm that are scattered about.

.

.

.

Within a few minutes most of the kitchen has been picked up. Much still remains to be done, but the work ends as Roman stands up and looks about. “Did anyone hear Virgil head up the stairs? Or hear his door close?” They had not.

Now, the three all stand and look about the room. The scene is strangely empty, strangely quiet. Something feels off. A sense of unease creeps across them all. Patton begins heading towards the stairs, but Roman calls out. “What the fuck?”

“Language.” Patton scolds half-heartedly, heading towards Roman.

Roman and Logan both stare out the front window, both equally confused. When Patton reaches them, he soon realizes why. The view outside is nearly invisible, clouds and rain blocking the sun. But, there in the yard, they observe Virgil, knees on the ground, body and head hunched and making unknown motions with his back facing them. The remaining three meet eyes, each giving the same questionable look and no one giving any answers.  

As the stalk to the front entrance, grab an umbrella for protection and open the door. Over the rain the faint sounds of heavy breathing and sniffling fill the rest of the silence. They close by his side and take in the scene before them.

Virgil, now without his jacket, is visibly skinny, gaunt and pale. He kneels in the grass and mud with tears streaming like waterfalls down his face, splashing onto the ground below. Still in shock, they look at what he seems to be trying to do. Virgil’s hands scratching wildly at the newly formed hole in the ground, a small pile of dirt to his left. Speaking of his hands, they seem near mangled, blood dripping around them. Several of his nails are either broken or missing completely. He doesn’t still, not even for a moment, solely dedicated to his task.

Roman sicks in a breath, “What the fuck…” 

Patton says nothing. “Kiddo?” No response. “Virgil?!”

A small squeak and Virgil jumps, his head whipping back at the sound of his name.

He gives them a look of fear, everyone's heart’s clench when his full face is revealed. They know he’s not wearing makeup, the tears falling and rain pouring would have smeared it beyond recognition, his bags had bags and pale face crumpled. His shivering is worrying, he looks ready to fall apart.

“Virgil? What are you doing?” Lately they’ve been asking him all sorts of questions, but now realizing they never truly got any answers. 

“I’m not done yet Roman. Please. I’m going as fast as I can!” Virgil answers with chattering teeth. 

“Done with what, if I may ask?” Logan attempts to approach, bringing the umbrella with, wanting to cover him. He’s not good with emotions, but he knows he can’t take anymore of watching the youngest suffer. Logan wants to cry.

Virgil gestures wildly. First, to push Logan away, making him immediately fall back to the others. Second, to the pit in front of him. “Di-i-i-ig-g-ging the-e-e pit-t! I’ll g-o-o-o fas-s-s-st-t-ter! I’m sorry!” He whimpers and turns back to his task, digging even more frantically than before. 

Roman steps forwards. “Ok that’s it!” The prince grabs the bleeding hands in his own, reeling back a tad at the feeling of ice he now clutches. 

It takes a second for Virgil to react, but when he does it’s violent. With a shriek, he flings his body back while twisting his head like he’s expecting to be hit. Roman’s heart breaks a little more.

“I’m s-s-so-so-r-r-r-r-y,” Virgil’s teeth clack together. “T-t-tr-y-y-y-ing…”

Patton is next to approach. “Baby, we don’t understand what you’re doing.” He speaks softly. 

“D-d-i-ig-g-g-i-ing.” 

“We understand _what_ you’re doing. Though I’m afraid none of us see the reason why.” Logan approaches as well. By now, they all have an inkling of why, no one wants to believe it.

Virgil sits in the mud, looking absolutely miserable. His clothes now covered in grim, soaked through completely. “S-s-s-so-o you-u c-c-can gro-ou-n-n d-d m-m-me.” His crying increases. 

The three sides catch eyes, looking helplessly at one-another. “What is it that you think is the meaning of being grounding?” 

Watching as Virgil’s eyes glazed over, he answers how they predicted but never wanted to hear aloud. “Pu-t-t-t-t me-e-e-e in th-the ground-d-d. The-e-en you b-b-bur-r-r-ry me!”

If hearts could shatter they’d all be pieces. If brain’s could break theirs would never work again. The collective horror and anger was as loud as the thunder bearing down. There are no dry eyes to be found. The tears and rain blend together, mixing as if the sky was crying with them. No one knew how to respond except for Patton, who burst into sobs.

Before they know it, they watch as Virgil turns back around, starts digging a new as if all were normal. This is not, by any means, normal.

Logan moves forwards, hesitates, then turns to the other two behind him. Regaining as much composure as he can, he speaks out, “Before anything else, we need to bring him inside. He is currently at risk of developing hypothermia.”

“I’ll carry him.” Patton left no room to argue. He needed Virgil in his arms now.

“Roman you should provide aid to Patton. Based on previous experiences, he may react violently.” 

They both move into position, Roman to the right of Virgil and Patton behind. The absolute fear and anguish causes everyone to hold in their breaths. In a single swoop, Patton grabs under Virgil’s arms, lifting him to his feet. Immediately the freezing side begins to thrash and scream. Roman grabs his arms while avoiding his bruised and bloody hands, effectively restraining them from hitting Patton. Virgil screams and flails about with more strength than before.

“Shhhh, Honey, we need to get you warmed up.” Choking on his own sobs, Patton shifts the other so he can now place an arm under his knees. More choked sobs fall from his mouth as he listens to Virgil’s soft begging. 

“Please, please-please-please-please, don’t. I can’t, I don’t want to… It hurts-it-hurts. I’ll try harder-please. I’ll do better. I’ll be better. Please!” Nothing could make this ok, no one felt ok. Virgil starts shaking harder, this time not from the cold. 

Finally, the moral side lifts him up. No one says anything as Patton’s eyes widen then clutch Virgil closer to his chest. No one misses how easily he’s being carried, how his bones are visible through his clothes or how tiny he looks, nearly disappearing completely. They all move back towards the house shielding their bundle from all sides. The rain and wind is howling loud and heavy, attempting to break the shield. By the time the door is opened, Virgil’s struggling has nearly died-out, leaving him shivering and limp. Patton feels conflicted about which state is worse.

As soon as Logan steps into the entrance, his face turns blank as he begins barking orders. “Patton, set him down on the far end of the couch. Roman, warm the house until it is approximately 72 degrees Fahrenheit.” No hesitation is had. The situation is miserable at best. The worst of thoughts keep running and twisting themselves in everyone’s minds. Despite the warmth of the house, all was cold. “We need to remove his soaked clothes. Be prepared for him to resist.”

Despite having his eyes wide open, Virgil never reacts to the words being spoken around him. Only fear can be found. At least his tears have stopped.

They start with his shirt. While Roman holds Virgil’s torso upright, Patton and Logan peel the soaked clothing over his dripping hair. 

“Please don’t… I don’t want this…” They can barely hear the whispered plea.

That was the last straw for Patton. The strain on his heart is too much. The only thing he is capable of now is dropping the clothes, bending over and breaking out in full body shaking sobs. “Oh baby… please don’t cry…” Another sob wracks his whole body. “You’re safe Angel. No one will hurt you… I promise.” 

That triggers Roman, driving him to nearly drop Virgil as, he too, melts into a fit of tears. “No one will _ever_ hurt you again. I’ll die before I let that happen.” They all know sides can’t die.

The last to break is Logan. He stays quiet but turns his head, hiding his tears. 

In a perfect world Virgil would be safe in his room. Pouting, but safe. If it was a kinder world, Roman, Logan and Patton would be able to hug Virgil, he would be dry and warm, there would be no tears in any eyes. This is not a perfect world. Virgil is cold, he’s scared, they can’t make this better. 

It takes a couple of seconds before anyone can regain enough composure to continue working. If it weren’t for the threat of hypothermia, they would mourn until they dropped.

“If you may Patton, we need to collect towels, blankets and warm clothing for him.” He gestures down to Virgil, hesitant to say his name lest it bring them to tears once again.

There was strategy in why Logan chose Patton to leave. The next step in aiding their youngest is to remove the rest of his clothing. Logan knows Patton would break. Roman looks to Logan, a knowing stare is shared between the two.

As Patton rushes away, Roman steadies his grip, assuring Virgil won’t fall from his grasp. They begin the slow process of removing the rest of his clothes, both biting down on their tongues as they feel his weak attempts to escape and near silent begging, begging them to stop.

“Stop please… I can’t… I just wanna go home…” Virgil cries, silent tears continue to fall.

“You are home Storm Cloud. You’re with Logan and me. Don’t fret my love.” The reassurance falls on deaf ears, making Roman squeeze his eyes shut and press a small kiss to the top of Virgil’s head. The Prince then turns to lock eyes with Logan, who isn’t faring much better than himself. “I don’t know what to do. I don’t know how to help.” He’s lost, never one to give up a fight, yet there’s no enemy he can defeat, just a broken little family.

“I… I’m afraid I don’t know the solution either.” 

“You’re Logic! You’re the smart one! You’re the one with all the answers! You can’t stop working now! Virgil needs you!” The small outburst causes Virgil to flinch away with a whine. “I’m sorry-I’m so sorry Little Storm. Please don’t cry.” Either the words are heard and understood or Virgil is simply too exhausted to keep fighting, the struggles stop. “I’m sorry to you as well Logan. We… we all need you.”

“And I need you all as well.” Nothing more is said, Logan has fully removed the rest of Virgil’s clothes. Once he is less constricted the anxious side curls his legs and arms protectively around his torso, still shivering.

Feet stepping quickly down the stairs, Patton emerges. This time will arms full. Blankets and towels hide most of the body which hustles towards the couch. “I don't know if this is enough, I brought blankets from each of our rooms - cause I thought that maybe it might make Virgil feel safer y’know?” He’s slightly out of breath. 

“That’s very thoughtful Patton, Virgil will certainly benefit.” Logan is unsure if it would truly help, but the relieved smile on Patton’s face is much needed in this grim situation.

Each individual takes a towel and begins to pat Virgil down, gently drying him off. When Patton gets to the hands he freezes, with everything else flurrying about, the bloody hands weren’t at the front of concerns. 

Logan notices Patton stilling, following his gaze to the battered hands. “Be careful around them, dry them slowly.” He turns back to the job at hand while Patton gives him a nod and continues.

They all work silently, shifting their bundle ever so slightly until not a drop of water is left on Virgil’s skin. 

In times like these, it becomes painfully obvious the differences in appearances. To the simpler things; such as different hair tones, to more complex features such as bone structure. To be more specific, Roman maintains well-toned muscles and teases the others for being shorter, Logan is lean and maintains the fact that he’s the same height as Roman, Patton has a bit of chub and is shorter than the both of them.

Virgil is the most different of them all, he’s small, without his sweater it’s almost concerning how small. He has always been skinny, often too anxious to eat anything. However, anytime someone may tease him about it, they will get a rather vicious surprise. They all suppose that being the fight-or-flight would give Virgil natural advantages, but even with that knowledge they always seem to underestimate his abilities. Virgil is strong. Stronger than Roman himself. He’s fast. Scarily fast. Often, if something is falling or an incoming incident appears; Virgil is first to react, leaping into action before anyone else registers what’s happening. Despite being the most physically capable side, they all see him mainly through his appearance. Small, skinny, someone who needs protection. And now, their physical view is currently who Virgil is. 

By the time they finish drying his body and hair, and once they shimmy Virgil into the fluffiest pyjamas Patton owns, Virgil has been unconscious for a little over ten minutes. Apparently, Virgil’s decided that ten minutes is enough sleep. He begins to wiggle about trying to open his stubborn eyes.

“Virge? Are you awake? Can you open your eyes for us?” Roman prompts as they all look on anxiously. 

Virgil opens his eyes with renewed energy. He first stares at Patton. “There he is.” Patton lets out a happy laugh and smile.

Despite not knowing why Patton was smiling or what is happening, Virgil sends a tired smile Patton’s way, which sets off another wave of happy tears from Patton.

Logan and Roman’s chests still shake with silent sobs. Virgil turns towards them, noticing the two for the first time. “R..h-l...an...k?” His throat raw and sore from previously screaming and crying, he still attempts to speak.

“Hold on Virgil I shall return momentarily.”

When Logan rises up and heads towards the kitchen, Virgil reaches out miserably as his big brother leaves him. His face crumples, salty tears flowing down his cheeks.

“Hey-hey-hey, look at me baby.” Virgil gazes back at Patton. Patton softly wipes his tears away. “Logan will be right back, he’s just getting you water for your throat. It’s all ok Son.” Still, Virgil’s tears don’t end.

“Hey, my Dark Knight,” Roman takes a big breath. “How are you holding up right now?” He attempts to distract Virgil for at least a moment. The response isn’t quite what he would have wanted. He’s given a small gurgle, then a series of chest wracking coughs. The seizing is terribly painful as everything seems to hurt. Every cough sends a bolt of lighting through his head, every shake jostling his aching muscles. Then, as his hands try to clutch at his throat, sharp pains send him further into tears. “Virgil! Give me your hands ok? You hurt them pretty badly, you need to calm down.”

Deep breaths calm Virgil slightly, throat hurting worse by the second. Luckily for him, Logan enters back in and quickly places himself at Virgil’s side. “Roman help him sit up.”

With a little help, Roman manages to prop Virgil against his chest, body pulled between his legs. Logan then tilts the cup upwards, letting Virgil take small sips until the glass is empty.

Clearing his throat, Virgil finally manages to talk, although it being rough and croaky. “Thanks ‘ogan.” His friends worried expressions don’t change. “Are you guys ok?”

“Are we… are _we_ ok?” The others sit back a second, Patton’s airy laugh gives Virgil an unnerving feeling. “Kiddo, we’re all fine… you’re the one that’s hurt.” 

Virgil’s stare fumbles into confusion, still not fully grasping the situation. “I don’t… what happened?” 

“You don’t remember?” Roman looks worried. 

At first Virgil doesn't understand. Then, memories slot themselves back into place. He knows he’s supposed to be grounded. He remembers mud, rain and exhaustion. It’s hard to think about much more. “I...I’m. I’m supposed to be grounded.” His eyes turn foggy, breathing starting to shake. Within seconds he’s being launched into a full-fledged panic attack. “No-no-no-no-no-no. You can’t! I can’t! Don’t make me!” He starts screaming and throwing his weight back and forth.

“Shit! No, Virgil that’s not going to happen, you have to listen to us! Calm down!” Roman tightens his grip, grunting as Virgil then begins fighting the hold.

“Roman hold him still!”

“What do you think I’m doing Logan?!” Hissing slightly when Virgil elbows his side.

“Patton! Patton!” Logan snaps at the moral side. The side who is frozen, staring and crying. “PATTON!” This snaps him out of the daze. “Patton. I need you to find Virgil’s sweater. I believe we had moved it into the main bathroom.” Patton sprints away.

Logan then takes one of Virgil’s hands in his own, ignoring the yelp that followed. “Can you hear me? You must be scared right now.” Logan truly wasn’t sure what he was saying. He tries embodying his inner Patton. “You’re going to be just fine. I need you to breathe with me. Here.” Ever so gently, he places the small bruised hand against his chest, and starts inhaling for a few seconds and exhaling deeply. After a short while it seems to help Virgil, containing his harsh struggling. Even Roman relaxes.

“Here sweetheart, here’s your favourite sweater!” Patton returns and wraps the clothing around Virgil’s shuttering shoulders. Virgil relaxes more and sinks into Roman arms. 

The air feels less frantic, something shifts and they then await for Virgil to react on his own time. Sooner than expected, Virgil lifts his head again. “Sorry.” He says softly.

Everyone jumps, 

“You have no reason to be sorry kiddo!”

“You haven't done anything wrong, love.

“You needn’t apologize.”

Patton, Roman and Logan all speak over each other. Virgil lets out a quick giggle. No one thought merely moments ago they would have killed to hear that sound.

Logan clears his throat, “Before anything else, we must attend to your injuries, Virgil.” He motions to Virgil’s hands.

“Hm? Oh. You don’t have to do that, it’s nothing - they barely hurt anymore, I-I can do it myself. It’s not nearly as bad as when they grounded me.” The last bit is said so normally, so honestly and without any hint of hatred or anger. Virgil feels Roman stiffen around him and immediately tries to backtrack. “I mean, uh, if you guys aren’t finished with me yet. I can - I’ll go back to, uhhh... finish.” Virgil then attempts to stand, feeling cold as he slips through Roman’s grip. 

Virgil’s swiftly interrupted, Patton near tackles him back onto Roman. “No!”

As soon as Virgil is returned to Roman’s grasp, he is tugged tight to The Prince’s chest, his arms wrapping around Virgil’s waist. 

Very abruptly, Patton raises his hand to push back the hair in front of Virgil’s eyes. Instinctively, the small side reals back and covers his face protectively.

“You’re safe Virgil. Patton would _never_ strike you.” Logan whispers soothingly.

“I know, I know. Sorry. Sorry.” 

To Roman’s left side, Patton seat himself next to him. “Can I hold you Virgil?” Always asking for consent, learning from many experiences that Virgil reacts horribly when surprised with touch. Before, they all assumed it was simply his fight-or-flight reflexes. Now it seems those reactions were darker than they thought.

When Virgil nods his consent, Roman very reluctantly passes Virgil over to Patton. He accepts the bundle. Sitting cross-legged and with a blanket covering his lap, he picks up Virgil bridal style and places the boy on his lap. Now positioned with Virgil curled against him, he nudges his own head atop the other. The hold reminds Patton of cuddling a young child, it’s so easy for everyone to remember that Virgil is very much younger than them all. It also reminds them of how much they failed in caring and protecting their baby brother. For now, this is good, Patton relaxes, sinking further into the couch.

Roman and Logan allow Patton to snuggle Virgil, it lasts a whole of five seconds before the moral side begins to feel his shirt dampen. “I don’t understand…” It’s quietly whispered, yet makes all sides perk up and become fully attentive.

“What don’t you understand?” Logic, always ready to give an explanation. 

“I don’t understand why you’re doing this! Just put me in the ground already! I just want it to be over!”

For the first time, Logan hates being the one to explain questions.

Pulling away from the now shaking Patton, he looks around, so confused, confused about something that should never have been hard to understand in the first place.

The world is frozen in time, all sorrowful, guilt gnawing at the older side’s hearts. 

“Virgil… Your…” Taking a deep breath, Logan tries to continue. “Your definition of being grounded is horribly warped. The truth of said word is vastly less grim.”

“Ha. Of course it’s grim, you have to bury me alive.” Virgil laughs with no humour.

“No, that’s not what grounding is!” Roman interrupts. “Grounding is supposed to mean you head into your room and pout for a bit!”

“That’s not quite what ha-”

Again, Logan is interrupted this time by Virgil. “That’s dumb. The word “grounding” doesn't even have anything to do with staying in your room.”

It’s clear at the moment, Virgil will not listen to any counter argument. 

Logan tries a different tactic next. “If you feel able to, would you please describe your experiences with being grounded? If it’s too much, please do not stress yourself.” 

At this point everyone in the room is very aware of what will be said next. Yet, nothing could prepare them to actually hear it.

Even though he’s silently crying, Virgil wishes to explain. “Back when I was with… well, them. I, I was always bad. I screwed up too much too many times. I guess they finally decided everything else they were doing was too boring.” Everything else? Only more questions form. This explanation leaves more mysteries to be revealed. “I don’t really remember how old I was the first time, maybe ten?” 

All at once, a series of gasps and sobs empty themselves into the room. Patton’s hand slaps over his mouth. Roman anger is showing more fierce than ever. Even Logan’s barely containing a tsunami of emotions, none of them positive. 

Not seeming to notice, eyes slightly unfocused, Virgil continues his story. “Whatever, that’s not really important. Um, they took me outside, I didn’t understand but they made me dig. I dug for so long. It was dark then. I remember I was scared of the dark.” He looks towards the ceiling as if he were back in that moment. “I miss that type of dark. Someone kicked me I think. Yeah, cause my ribs hurt. Or maybe they hurt after the dirt was put back into the hole. I was in the hole. It was much darker…” He begins to trail off in the end, staring into deep nothingness. 

Without any signs or warnings he starts tensing, body stiff as a board. He cries harder. Almost shouting in fear. “I’ve been bad! I’ve been bad! They wanna hurt me! They’re going to hurt me! Patton! Patton! Dad! Dad! Help me! They’re going to come get me!” He reaches out blindly, lost in a time long gone. What’s worse, is other than the reaching, Virgil stays as still as possible. Maybe not moving will hide him from _their_ wrath.

The reactions are immediate. Patton loosens his grip, believing restraining Virgil will send him further into the nightmare. “Baby, Baby. No. They can’t get you. Shhhh. You’re home. You’re safe. We have you.” He speaks softly into the panicking sides ears while rocking him tenderly.

Hopefully hearing all their voices will calm Virgil down, Roman speaks as well. “I’ll protect you. I won’t let them get to you.” They all now cry, matching the frantic tears of the youngest.

Despite knowing little of how to deal with these situations, Logan begins Virgil’s counting techniques. 

Over and over reassurances and comforting words try to overcome Virgil’s cries for help. The more Virgil begs for help, the worse the others feel. If you’ve never had to, listening to someone beg for your help, and being helpless to save them, is one of the darkest feelings in this existence. A ray of hope shines through, simple words slowly bring Virgil back from the flashback. He grows tired in his pleas and with that silence, Virgil can better hear the others speaking. Those voices are safe.

“Can you hear us little buddy?” Roman asks, hope filling his voice.

Virgil’s lazy gaze follows the sound and nods. Time feels so fake. Every minute seems to be hours. This whole ordeal feels as if days have passed. Nothing seems normal. Exhausted, Virgil sinks back into Patton’s hold.

“They tried to get me.” 

“They can’t anymore, Storm Cloud.” 

“I don’t want to be grounded again.” 

“And you never will.”

No one knows how many times this cycle of panic and comfort has happened. No one wants it to continue. 

“What happened to you was not normal, my Dear.” Logan pours all his emotions into his speech. It captivates Virgil. “No one should ever have to experience that. Ever. We weren't there when they… when they _buried you alive_ ,” He spat venom. “That will forever remain in the past. Now and forever, you will never be treated with such cruelty. You deserve kindness and happiness a-a-and, and everything they didn’t give you!” Angry tears drip like fire, he feels things that he never wants to understand. Emotions that he is never supposed to have. He isn’t created to feel, so why does he feel so deeply.

An outburst from Logan is always unforeseen. Rarely predicted and rarely heard. Even with the appalling situation at hand, no one expected it, Virgil least of all.  

That’s the final feather that breaks the camel's back. Such a strange feeling it is, something you’ve done for years is suddenly revealed to be abnormal. Yet, there is a bitter relief in that revelation. One feels relief when someone tells that what you hated is supposed to be hated. That you’re not wrong when feeling that way.

Virgil reaches out his hands, his mangled, hurt, bloody hands. He uncurls then curls them slightly, gesturing for Roman and Logan. Virgil needs to anchor himself, hold those he loves. Logan and Patton, with slight hesitation and much caution, reach out to him, placing their own hands cradling the frail ones. They won’t refuse Virgil this simple comfort.

At that moment there is nothing else. It's only them and that's the sole importance. Right there, surrounded by his family, he finally accepts the truth. Before, the sick acceptance was needed to survive, he had to believe it was fine. If he knew otherwise, the pain would hurt so much more. Be that as it was, Virgil has finally been told that families are supposed to love each other. Never to find and exploit weaknesses as forms of punishment. 

Virgil now cries out, clutching his brothers as they look on with mournful eyes. The boys all mourn for the past. Moments that weren't had, memories lost to pain. A childhood that never existed. 

“It hurt! It hurt so much! I couldn't breathe! They wouldn't let me breathe! Sometimes I didn’t close my eyes, it hurts! The dirt would break me! I couldn't breathe, it was so hard to think! I couldn’t think! It hurt…” Virgil grips Roman’s hand tighter, needing to be protected. He felt Logan rub his hands gently, needing to be listened to. He snuggles closer into Patton, needing to be loved. And he got it all. He got safety, understanding, compassion and so much more. “I would hear them laugh every time.” Virgil sobs and continues. “It wasn't funny. They laughed but I didn't think it was funny. No, it wasn't funny at all. When I would try to breathe, all that would happen is dirt filling my lungs. I tried to be good, I really did! I was never good enough, so they had to fix me.”

For a while, all they could do was hold Virgil, steady him with comfort and love.

“You don't need to be fixed, Shadowling. Nothing is wrong with you. You are yourself, and that's all you should be.” Roman gives him the reassurance he needs.   

Virgil hiccups, then hisses sharply as his hands get jostled. Roman and Logan quickly release his hands, remembering what they meant to do before, which seems as though it were lifetimes ago. 

 Despite it being forgotten in the past, the task could not be pushed away any longer. Virgil’s fingertips match the patches on his sweater. Pure white nails, or where nails fail to be, are all surrounded by blood, now clotted. 

Nearly slapping himself from being so careless, Logan races into action. “We need to clean and disinfect your hands immediately, Virgil. If not, we could be looking at severe nerve and tissue damage, which oftentimes leads to amputations of said hands.”  

Virgil looks at his hands alarmed, turns his body away from Logan and retreats into the safety of Patton’s embrace. Patton gives a pleased squeal, then wraps both arms around his treasure, shielding him from Logan’s mighty anatomical wrath.

“Oh wonderful _Blunt_ sen Burner, always one to soften the blow.” 

The dad figure rubs a hand up and down Virgil’s back encouragingly. “Don’t worry kiddo, Logan will be quick. I’ll hold you the whole time, if that’s what you want.” Despite his nervousness Virgil nods.

Sans any work for Roman, he just sits next to Patton and Virgil, twiddling his thumbs and humming a small lullaby.

Without further delay Logan heads to the kitchen. Everything organized to a T, as a result of your’s truly. Walking directly to the kitchen sink, where he knows emergency kit is kept, he snatches it up and returns to his previous post. All in all, it took little over six seconds. 

Logan takes it, opens it up, then shuffles through its contents. “Roman go retrieve warm water and a hand-held cloth." With great care, he takes Virgil’s hands in his own, delicately wiping off blood, dirt and grime. The process stings, open wounds are flushed clean. Virgil lets out a high moan while unconsciously pulling away. 

This only makes Logan hold tighten and tug back. “Please remain still.” He scolds lightly.

In response Virgil squeezes his eyes shut and hides his face in Patton’s neck. Morality continues rubbing Virgil’s back and stomach. 

“Does this feel good, Sweetie?” He stalls for a moment before he feels Virgil nods against his neck. Thus, he continues, looking down at Virgil with complete adoration.

By the time Logan finishes washing and disinfecting Virgil’s hands, the water is rusty in colour and smells heavily of metal. The bandages come next. They're wrapped firmly around his fingers, tight enough that movement is limited but loose enough to continue the proper amount of circulation.

Once Logan’s task is finished completely, Roman kneels in front of their youngest and attacks them delicately with quick kisses. “This is a magical spell. One to help them heal swiftly.”  Virgil lets out a small huff of amusement, making Roman crack a large grin. 

Both Logan and Patton surprise Virgil, each of them kissing his cheeks. The boy’s eyes burn, hot tears spilling, lip wobbling. 

“Oh no, sweetie! It’s okay, I’m sorry! I’m sorry!” Patton quickly reassures. Morality shifts slightly in order to gauge Virgil’s expression. “What’s the matter?”

Virgil sends him a soft smile, so genuine it nearly stops Patton’s heart. “Everything is just soft and nice and it’s so overwhelming.”

“You’re overwhelmed? Here, I’ll place you next to me until you feel less so.” Patton begins sliding out from underneath Virgil.

“NO!” The flare of energy causes them all to jolt. Virgil grasps at Patton’s shirt, gripping it so tightly that he feels his, now reopened, wounds bleed. “Don’t let go! Please!” He continues clutching Patton’s blue polo.

“I won’t. I’m not. Calm down, Little Man.” They fall back into place. Patton rubs comfortingly over Virgil’s bare arms, sweater now pooled on the ground below. Suddenly surprised Patton remove his hands. “Kiddo! You're still so cold!”

 “It's okay Dad. I'm always cold, especially when I'm stressed or scared, and right now I'm a bit of both, not going to lie.” Virgil chuckles. It’s a sad chuckle, no humour hidden inside.

Patton hugs him back, “Oh my poor anxious baby!” His body heat engulfing Virgil in warmth once more.

“Actually Patton, release Virgil.” Logan punctuates. 

“What?! No!” Patton sounds horrified at the prospect. “Why would I do that?! You’re mean Logie.” He frowns, locking Virgil further in his entrapping hug.

“Worry not. It will only be temporary. In such a way, it ought to be beneficial to swathe the aforementioned, innermost a comforter, inducing augmentation in circulation, thus proliferating corporus thermatics.” Logan looks delighted.

Aside from Logan, they’ll are lost to that breakneck of a phrase.

“No one understands, Logan.” Roman smirks. His smirk can only bring trouble. “It’s all _Geek_ to me.”  

Sighing and pinching the bridge of his nose, Logan explains. “We should wrap Virgil in a blanket.”

“Guys. I'm right here. Maybe you should ask me.” 

“My sincere apologies Virgil, would you prefer a blanket?”

A stubborn air perorates Virgil’s response. He grumbles and ducks his head. “Yes… I would like that.” 

“As well, I believe it’s my turn to hold Virgil as I haven't had a chance yet.” Patton begins to fawn. Logan backtracks. “Ahem.” He looks towards Virgil who wears a sly smirk. “Think nothing of it, I simply wish to better observe your well being more accurately.” 

Such a domestic scene it is. Strange, Patton stands, still with Virgil in his arms, but sweet. Logan holds a blanket in his arms, waiting.

“Guys, I can do this myself y’know. I’m not helpless.” Still, Virgil makes no move to protest being manhandled.

“We all know you’re capable, but ‘tis unnecessary my Dark Prince!”

 The moment that Virgil separates from his living heater, he begins to shiver violently. The other three share sad look, then all move faster. 

When Logan is given their brother, sudden concern pops into his mind, even himself, who isn't terribly strong, a result of being locked away in his studies the majority of his time, is able to lift Virgil with ease. He can feel every knob on his back as easily as he feels the new grasp twisting onto his tie. New emotions, ones he couldn’t place a name, blossomed painfully inside. Selfishly, he wishes to not feel at all. 

Aside from the grip on Logan’s tie, Virgil makes little movement, allowing them to do as they please. For him, this is the ultimate sign of trust. His feet don't touch the ground, not even for a second. As Logan holds his bundle, Roman and Patton swiftly tuck Virgil in, cooing when he closes his eyes happily then turns limp. Virgil is swaddled with still enough room to escape if he so wishes, but it would be a cold day in hell when he decides to move voluntarily. Looking down at the smallest side, they all can agree that love doesn't come near to the feelings they share.

“Hello Dear-Heart.” They descend onto the couch. “I’m very grateful you have given me your trust. I understand that it’s quite hard to do.” Logan clutches him tight, cups the back of Virgil’s neck and guides his head to rest under his own. 

Right now, Virgil has dropped all defences. He is stripped of his barriers, too tired to do much of anything. This is the child they never helped. The child they never had loved. A silent promise is held, they will help and love Virgil now and forever after.

Roman speaks up, “That looks so comfy being buried in blankets...” _Buried._ Oops.

The mood shifts and darkens, it’s time to acknowledge the truth. Roman won’t hesitate, refusing to allow Virgil the chance to think the worst. “If I may ask,” Roman waits till he’s given the affirmative from Virgil, then continues, “Early this morning,” Was it really only this morning? “You were waiting up for me when I came downstairs. Why? And… your behaviour, it was… strange. I still don’t fully understand.” This was a question without a question. Asking for an explanation while never outright saying so.

“Yeah, I feel pretty stupid now. When you were grounded, I thought, well, I thought you were buried.” Virgil stares at the corner where he originally hid. “I just wanted to make sure you weren’t really hurt.”

“You made sure I wasn't bruised, that I didn’t cough, cough up dirt. You did that all for me... You’ve dealt with all that alone before?” Roman, as well as the others, look on, horrified.

Virgil shrugs, “That’s why I wanted to make sure you didn't have to.”

“And when you were outside my door?” Roman doesn't like where these questions lead.

“Wanted to make sure you didn’t need anything. Like, if you had nightmares or something.” 

“Oh Little Cloud, I’m so sorry. I treated you so poorly.” This guilt wasn’t a simple type, where you break someone’s possession or when one is the cause of tears. This guilt is a toxic snake, curling around Roman’s throat and sinking his fangs deep into his heart. It’s heavy and unending. Roman promptly leans down, till their foreheads match. “I will never forget your brave actions. I will forever be grateful.” He plants a kill atop Virgil’s hair. They share a gaze, Virgil so open and bare, Roman can look to his soul. Virgil didn’t know he could love someone so deeply.

Everything is so sweet to Virgil. A sugar drop on a crisp spring day. The comfort they offer freely. He needs not lift a finger, they hug and caress him. As a child, this scene was all he ever wanted. It used to ache, deep under his skin. Now he has it and would do anything to keep it. Strangely enough, he feels as if his family will always provide. Enough will never be enough. This is all so soothing, in a way he’s never received. This warmth is more than the heat of his skin. This was warmth which engulfs him entirely. They love him. Him! Logan cuddles him. Roman runs his hands through Virgil’s hair, it nearly makes him purr. Finally with Patton, he has a hand on Virgil’s stomach, a steadying pressure grounding him, yet making the world float. The world has never been so warm.

Finding the right moment, Patton begins, “I have a question too. I wanted to ask earlier.” His face fixes itself, forming a stern look. “When did you last eat and sleep?”

Misinterpreting his gaze as anger Virgil pulls back, pushing his weight farther in Logan’s arms. Expecting the worst, he doesn't answer or meet Patton’s gaze.

The serious expression softens immediately, “You're not in trouble, baby.” Patton soothes, “You just seem so sick and I’m worried about you.”

“Remember when the lunch right before Roman got grounded?” Virgil speaks but no eye contact is had. “That was my last meal. And, I guess when I woke up that morning was my last sleep?” 

“Under your eyes… you’re telling me that's not makeup?!” Roman rubs a finger over the dark eye patches. It’s so gentle Roman might as well have been replaced by a butterfly.

“Oh my Dearest, that’s nearly a week ago.” Despite the burn in his eyes, Logan speaks calmly. “You are thin enough as it is. We need you to eat.” 

“Can I do that later? I don’t think I can stay awake anymore.”

“One more question, then you may rest. Is that satisfactory?” Logan asks. He’s gifted with a nod against his chest. “This afternoon, before this whole ordeal, what caused the intense collapse?”

“My breakdown? I… I… I don’t remember everything. It just hurt. Everything hurt. I had to be good. I had to be better. I was better! You were happy with me! Then I… wasn’t good anymore. I was bad.” 

Logan felt Virgil trembling and frowned. “You are good, Dear. We all have moments as such. This does not make you bad. What’s bad, is to hide it all inside and attempt to change ourselves based upon perceptions of what others may do. We… We love you, no matter what happens.” Sentimentality is not Logan’s speciality, but to help Virgil, there’s nothing he won’t try. 

“I have another apology I owe to you, Virgil. I remember that moment, it wasn’t my brightest.” Roman longs to have Virgil back in his arms. “I made a joke. I told you to stop being yourself. Because if you did, I said you would be safe from punishment. I regret it terribly.”

It seems as though, whatever Patton, Roman or Logan admit, whatever their wrongdoings, Virgil only smiles and forgives. They feel undeserving of this. All Virgil shows them is love. It is returned tenfold. 

“Oh no.” Patton slaps his hand over his mouth, eyes filled with horror, looking straight at Virgil.

“Dad?” Virgil tilts his head.

Patton removes his hand covering his mouth. “I made a mean joke too!”

“Joke?”

He nods. “The one I didn’t think it was a joke! The, _until you get your feet back on the ground_. I didn’t mean it literally!” 

“This is why I always clarify.” Logan adds.

Roman whispers, “Not the time, Specs.” 

“Water under the bridge Popstar.” Virgil yawns, the toll of this day bringing him further from reality. His dreams call out like a siren, irresistible.

“I guess we should get you to bed, Sport." The dad voice commanded it to be, so it will be.

“Would it be ok… I mean only if your want… cause you have put up with me this long already… can we stay together like this? Only if you guys a comfortable and if not that’s ok I don’t-”

“We would love to stay with you. It means I get to cuddle you some more!” Happily, Patton interjects. 

In the following minute, Roman pulls out the couch, making it larger, shaped like a bed. Patton collects all the blankets and shifts them around forming a nest. Logan continues to swaddle his heap of adoration. 

Eventually, everything is set perfectly. Logan stays in the middle laying back yet propped up slightly, still maintaining his firm hold on Virgil, who is now settled on his side, covering Logan. Then there’s Patton, he too, lays propped. The reasoning being more capable of slinging an arms over Virgil, petting his hair. Roman, lay flat, dragging himself over Logan. He may or may not be jealous of Logan hogging all the Virgil cuddles. The protection is solid. A barrier of tender care. 

“Just a reminder, what you went through wasn't normal. It isn’t ever going to be that way. Never again.” Roman faces Virgil, cupping his cheek whole stroking it tenderly. 

None of them expects Virgil to unlearn years of abusive conditioning. They don’t expect everything to go uphill, no fighting and a happily after. Yet, maybe support is a good start.

 A sleepy huff, a soft breath. “So tired,” Virgil lets out a big yawn, “Yea ‘vry tired”

“I bet you are. It’s been a big day for you, Baby.” 

For a while, the silence stays, the room dark, everyone breathing. The sandman has come.

.

.

.

“Does this mean I’m ungrounded?” Everyone stills till they hear the jest in Virgil’s voice.

“Yes, you’re ungrounded Vergie.” They all tuck him in a little tighter.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for sticking around! Please feel free to send in any constructive criticism. I adore feedback!  
> Also, I want to write more Sanders Sides. Let me know which one you would like to read.  
> NGL they all are centered around Virgil hurt/comfort.  
> 1\. Animal Shifter (Human Au)  
> 2\. Deaged Sides  
> 3\. Virgil manipulated and slightly tortured by the Dark Sides  
> Those are the three I've planned the best.  
> If you hate commenting, just write the number you like in the comments.

**Author's Note:**

> Haven't written in such a long time. I'm very rusty. I would love any criticism, comments or ideas of how to improve! Thanks for reading!


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